Biking to beat the blues
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People living with depressive conditions can reap benefits from physical activity, and in some mild cases it could be the best therapy. Melissa Cranenburgh reports
This article first appeared in Ride On October-November 2005 issue
When I meet Sarah Russell at Melbourne’s Flinders St Station she has a bicycle helmet hanging from her arm. Russell, the author of A lifelong journey: staying well with manic depression/bipolar disorder, was herself diagnosed with manic depression (the term she prefers) as a young adult. Cycling, she tells me, is part of her ‘staying well plan’.
“One of my criteria for jobs is that I can always be no more than an hour’s cycling from home.”
Russell’s book outlines the experiences of people with bipolar disorder – one of the more serious depressive conditions. It covers strategies people can use in combination with medication to keep their symptoms in check and live fulfilling happy lives.
Russell recommends designing a staying well plan. This involves listing the main triggers of the illness, any ‘warning signs’, the things you should to do to stay well and things to do when you are feeling down (or in the manic phase – too ‘up’).
Exercise is high on Russell’s the list of things to do to stay well. Not only does she find the serotonin boost important, riding helps clear her head after a hard day at work.
“I find I can get very upset about it [work], the bike ride home gives me time to think about the day.
“Thinking time and exercise all at the same time.”
Because of the importance of exercise in Russell’s regime, she knows something is wrong if she tries to avoid the morning commute. If it happens a few times in a row, alarm bells ring and she forces herself back onto the saddle.
“On the third morning it’s a warning sign. On the third day I have to ride.”
Noel’s story
Noel Kelleher, 27, realised he was mildly depressed about two years ago. He tried a few different avenues. “The counsellor was quite helpful – I talked to a doctor who suggested counselling, suggested anti-depressants. They worked in some respects, but not others.”
After about six weeks of medication, he felt the side effects were not really worth the outcome. Deciding to manage his condition himself, Noel took on more cycling and started practising martial arts three times a week.
“Definitely, I found cycling good for clearing the mind – a good half an hour of not worrying about anything but riding, basically.”
“There were days you’d get up and you just don’t want to leave the house really.”
Whenever Noel felt that way he would remember a friend’s good advice: “Just get out the door and you’ll feel better already.”
“And once you’re in the saddle it’s too late to turn around – you do feel better already.”
On days when he doesn’t feel like riding, Noel says his wife helps by asking if he’s going to ride to work that day.
How does exercise help?
Many people talk about the endorphin ‘rush’ they experience after exercise. But Professor Ian Hickie, clinical advisor for depression initiative Beyond Blue, says that while exercise affects brain chemicals, it also promotes a healthy ‘sleep-wake’ cycle, crucial in keeping mentally fit. It’s important to get out and exercise when the sun’s up, and to wind down when it gets dark.
A major difficulty for people with depressive conditions is that they may not feel like getting out and about. Hickie recommends trying something achievable, which for some may be riding to work.
“You start doing that ten or 20 minutes a day and after you’ve done that a few weeks it’s actually not that difficult to increase that 10 or 20 minutes.”
Then try some longer rides and add more intense exercise for increased benefits. And it’s a good idea to make exercise a social activity. Have coffee with friends after a ride, or meet and ride into work with a colleague.
“In the depression area, doing things with people, walking and talking with people, that’s nice too; add socialisation to it.”